What to Say Next

David is one of the narrators and protagonists of What to Say Next. At the beginning of the novel, David identifies as broadly non-neurotypical. Over the course of the novel, however, he comes to more closely identify with an Asperger’s syndrome diagnosis, which he received as a child. He elects to keep this diagnosis as a means of self-definition even though he initially pushes back against such a label.

David’s feelings about his neurodiversity are complex. While he expresses happiness with certain ways that he thinks (even when they are different from neurotypical patterns), he experiences significant shame and anxiety about the ways that he feels not “normal.” When his journal is published, for example, he thinks that Kit will find him “disgusting” when she sees how he logs and categorizes interpersonal interactions. He resists letting others see his hand flapping, a form of stimming (or repeated, soothing motion that people with autism may perform, though the specific movements or actions will vary from person to person). He reflects that he ceased flapping after his sister recorded a video of him doing it and warned him that continuing to flap would stop him from ever having friends. This incident, as well as other interactions with his sister, indicates how even people in David’s life who seek to help him often stigmatize qualities that signal David’s neurodiversity to others and expect him to strive to act normally. When David tells Kit about his past Asperger’s diagnosis, it is therefore a significant emotional step for David. Telling Kit indicates that he understands that letting people in means letting them see all parts of himself, not only the parts that he adopts when trying to act “normal.”

David struggles with ambiguity, which he explains as his preference for “closed loops.” This desire for linearity causes him trouble at various points in the novel. His efforts to logically characterize social interactions, for one, are often thwarted by the complex undercurrents to his peers’ emotions—particularly when facing bullies who take advantage of his differences and feign friendliness to further torment him. This tendency also causes conflict with Kit, as when David is so relieved to have solved the mystery about Robert’s accident that he smiles over the idea that Kit was driving when her father died. Though the novel does not portray David’s social challenges as resolved, Miney does remind David that he has improved at understanding others’ feelings; though he did not immediately think of Kit’s feelings when he discovered her role in the accident, he quickly realized his faux pas, where he previously wouldn’t have realized the error at all. The end of the novel implies that David is growing more comfortable with ambiguity.

David is one of the narrators and protagonists of What to Say Next. At the beginning of the novel, David identifies as broadly non-neurotypical. Over the course of the novel, however, he comes to more closely identify with an Asperger’s syndrome diagnosis, which he received as a child. He elects to keep this diagnosis as a means of self-definition even though he initially pushes back against such a label.

David’s feelings about his neurodiversity are complex. While he expresses happiness with certain ways that he thinks (even when they are different from neurotypical patterns), he experiences significant shame and anxiety about the ways that he feels not “normal.” When his journal is published, for example, he thinks that Kit will find him “disgusting” when she sees how he logs and categorizes interpersonal interactions. He resists letting others see his hand flapping, a form of stimming (or repeated, soothing motion that people with autism may perform, though the specific movements or actions will vary from person to person). He reflects that he ceased flapping after his sister recorded a video of him doing it and warned him that continuing to flap would stop him from ever having friends. This incident, as well as other interactions with his sister, indicates how even people in David’s life who seek to help him often stigmatize qualities that signal David’s neurodiversity to others and expect him to strive to act normally. When David tells Kit about his past Asperger’s diagnosis, it is therefore a significant emotional step for David. Telling Kit indicates that he understands that letting people in means letting them see all parts of himself, not only the parts that he adopts when trying to act “normal.”

David struggles with ambiguity, which he explains as his preference for “closed loops.” This desire for linearity causes him trouble at various points in the novel. His efforts to logically characterize social interactions, for one, are often thwarted by the complex undercurrents to his peers’ emotions—particularly when facing bullies who take advantage of his differences and feign friendliness to further torment him. This tendency also causes conflict with Kit, as when David is so relieved to have solved the mystery about Robert’s accident that he smiles over the idea that Kit was driving when her father died. Though the novel does not portray David’s social challenges as resolved, Miney does remind David that he has improved at understanding others’ feelings; though he did not immediately think of Kit’s feelings when he discovered her role in the accident, he quickly realized his faux pas, where he previously wouldn’t have realized the error at all. The end of the novel implies that David is growing more comfortable with ambiguity.

Lauren, or “Miney,” as she is known by her brother David, is one of David’s strongest emotional supports in the novel., as well as being his social opposite. At the start of the novel, Miney is away at college, though she returns for an extended period during the middle of the text after she finds herself struggling socially and academically at college. Kit recalls Miney as being effortlessly cool and very popular; Kit credits her influence as the reason David has not faced more bullying for his neurodiversity, as Miney is extremely protective over her little brother. This attitude is confirmed when Miney threatens to “ruin” Kit if she hurts David’s feelings.

David idolizes Miney. This impression of his sister as entirely unflappable leads him to struggle to understand that her return from college is due to emotional distress, rather than a physical ailment. He relies on his sister for advice, which the novel indicates is well-intentioned if something not ideal or unkind. Miney, for example, once told David that his “flapping” hand motions would prevent him from having friends. Though she did this to help her younger brother socially, these comments contributed to some of David’s internalized shame about being neurodivergent.

David grows somewhat aware of the challenges his sister faces as the novel progresses. Though Miney must inform him outright of her struggles to adapt to college life, David gathers for himself that it must also be difficult for Miney to be negatively compared to David by their father, who considers Miney’s interests frivolous. Though David comments that Miney stands up to her father’s sexist attitudes about makeup and other feminized interests, the text implies that she is nonetheless affected by her father’s disdain. By the end of the novel, Miney and David’s relationship becomes less one-sided. Miney opens up to David about her struggles and indicates that she has learned from his bravery about facing his bullies. David, meanwhile, recognizes that he is more capable than he initially thought when it comes to navigating high school social interactions without his sister’s input.